Month: February 2016

Challenge On: Expressing Thanks

Thank you: Arguably the two most powerful words in our vocabulary. The challenge to myself: extend a formal thank you
via handwritten note to at least two people a week for a good
turn they’ve done for me or others. Challenge begins today and runs through 2016.

thank you banner-1186625_1920

It’s easy enough to say thank you – via text, email, snail mail, phone, in person – at any point in our day. When I worked in the nonprofit arena, I conveyed my thanks every day in a variety of ways for the many generous acts done on behalf of my nonprofits by volunteers and donors. Since those days (which ended five-plus years ago), however, I’ve been a bit remiss in extending thanks for the many good deeds that have benefited me.

A quick on-line search for the definition of thank you includes the following:

a polite expression of one’s gratitude

a polite expression used when acknowledging a gift, service, or compliment, or accepting or refusing an offer.

When used in it’s [sic] true form (not merely out of obligation) it is an expression of respect and appreciation to another soul (and simultaneously to all beings) for the unconditional kindness that has been bestowed upon you

Exclamation used to express appreciation to some for offering or giving you something, for helping you, or for asking how you are feeling

For me, thank you and gratitude are inextricably linked together. I owe a debt of gratitude for many and find that expressing gratitude via thanks provides a variety of benefits for me:

  • thanks - gratitudeServes as a reminder of the good deeds done on my behalf
  • Acts as a natural mood enhancer
  • Spurs me on to do a good deed on someone else’s behalf
  • Forces me to slow down and appreciate the moment
  • Boosts productivity in all areas of my life
  • Underscores how a seemingly small act can have ripple effects
  • Reminds me that there is a lot of good happening in the world

Join me in your own way in adopting an attitude of gratitude and thanking those near and far who lend a hand to your success.

Challenge On: Expressing Thanks was last modified: February 23rd, 2016 by Deb Nelson

On World Cancer Day, This Book Title Speaks For All of Us: F*ck Off Cancer

Today, February 4, 2016 is World Cancer Day. “Taking place under the tagline ‘We can. I can.’, World Cancer Day 2016-2018 will explore how everyone – as a collective or as individuals – can do their part to reduce the global burden of cancer.”

Linda Brossi Murphy faced breast cancer with a heaping dose of humor and bravely shares her cancer experience in her book F*CK OFF CANCER: Cancer, shaken, not stirred, on the rocks with a twist! to benefit those who may follow in her footsteps. Those who have previously walked in her footsteps will also gain some degree of comfort, validation, and sisterhood as they read this book. As Linda pointed out: “The good news about this is that I was not alone. The bad news is that everyone’s life is touched by cancer.”

Truer words were never spoken, as every person I know has a relationship with cancer. There are, it seems, many paths to health. Linda chose to follow conventional treatment: surgery (two lumpectomies) followed by chemotherapy and radiation. She also chose to participate in a clinical trial, not knowing whether she was receiving the actual drug or a placebo in addition to the protocol outlined by her oncologist.

We’re all lucky that Linda followed a friend’s advice to write this book. Linda tells it like it is, leaving very little to the imagination (yes, her book includes photos to document her journey) as she graciously told her story of life with cancer. This story will help assess cancer treatment by studying how the treatment affected every facet of Linda’s life. Yes, we can call this anecdotal data and dismiss its value. OR we can give this type of data a little more respect and call it a case study. It is, after all, each individual’s experience that lets us know how our science (treatment protocol) actually plays out. Linda’s observation about chemotherapy illustrates the toll her treatment took on body, mind, and spirit:

Someday, in the future, chemotherapy will be looked at the same way we currently look at electric shock therapy. Barbaric! As we progress in understanding cancer and finding treatments, it will eventually be looked back upon as ludicrous that we sat people down and pumped them full of a broad-spectrum poison.

There simply must be a better way to treat cancer. Linda endured more than a year and a half of treatment, at one point joking: “I am fat, bald, toenail-less, burned from radiation, and scarred. How lovely!” So how the heck did this wild woman get through her treatment with her sense of humor fully in tact? With a little help from her friends, of course! She had a support team that included a vast group of family and friends. Each chemo treatment found a collection of supporters in Linda’s chemo room laughing, joking, and sometimes cajoling the hours away. This party atmosphere did not mean that Linda didn’t appreciate the serious nature of cancer. On the contrary, this was just one way Linda chose to tell cancer to f*ck off.

Linda also focused on her medical team: To show the members of her medical team how much she appreciated their treatment, Linda asked her support team to bake cookies for her medical team rather than to bring meals to her and her family. Not just once and done; she had a calendar and her support team signed up to bake cookies and make sure they got them to Linda ahead to time so she could deliver them prior to her treatment. She also threw an end-of-treatment party to thank everyone – friends, family, medical personnel – who had helped her through her treatment.

This book is a generous gift from a cancer conqueror to anyone who wants to know what it’s like to walk through the world of cancer treatment. There are laughs and tears along the way as you’d expect. Not surprisingly, there are also poignant moments when Linda and her husband faced mortality head on.  Little was easy; much was overwhelming. Each day also presented a new adventure, an opportunity to look at the world from a new vantage point. While making her way through a world of overwhelm, Linda chose to find a way to laugh every day as she walked through the halls of cancer treatment.

As we observe World Cancer Day in 2016, we owe it to Linda and everyone else who has faced a cancer diagnosis to:

  • Acknowledge that after 40 years of fighting a war on cancer, we need to change up our approach.
  • Stop expecting a different outcome without changing our behavior (treatment / research).
  • Provide support to cancer patients, rather than the cancer industry.
  • Focus on prevention. Prevention ≠ screening / detection.
  • Explore evidence-based complementary care.
  • Read this book and others like it to understand how cancer treatment affects the patient.

All eyes are on Vice President Biden’s moonshot. I applaud his and President Obama’s enthusiasm. We’ve also got answers right here on Earth that are waiting to be put into practice. What do you say? I say now would be the time.

On World Cancer Day, This Book Title Speaks For All of Us: F*ck Off Cancer was last modified: December 1st, 2016 by Deb Nelson

Challenge Met: Enjoying the Rush of Meeting a Goal

Zig Ziglar knew what he was talking about when he said: “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”

Entering 2016, I joined the Marathon Sports Winter Warrior Challenge. The challenge for me: run or walk five miles OUTSIDE every day for the month of January. Don’t quite make five miles on any day? No problem. Simply downgrade to three miles or one mile a day. Just can’t get it together to get out one day? No problem there either – you’re out of the challenge.

January can be a downright tough month to be outside in Maine. Apparently Mother Nature wanted me to succeed, though, and provided us with a number of unseasonably warm days – 45 degrees in Maine in January??? Score! No worries for those of you who are wondering if I got off without difficulty in reaching this challenge. I was also outside in wind, rain, snow, and ice.

WW_BLUEThe rewards for meeting this challenge? My name will be listed along with the others who completed the challenge on the back of a t-shirt featuring this handsome guy. More than that, though, as Ziglar’s words imply, this challenge was about setting a goal and following through on my intentions. I wrote about my three words for 2016 earlier this year: Focus. Finish. Follow-through.

So far, this challenge includes two of my words: Focus and Finish. I had to put this challenge at top of mind and make time every day to be outside. There certainly were a couple of days when I just didn’t feel like going outside. I had made a commitment to myself and a friend to participate in and complete this challenge, however, so I put on my winter gear and headed outside. Follow-through will now be to make sure I transition from walking to running over the next 60 days – a longer-term goal that feeds into a goal to run, walk, or crawl 1,000 miles this year. Thanks to the Winter Warrior Challenge, I’ve already walked 161 miles.

So, what was the key to my success in getting my sedentary self out of the house to achieve this goal? Several factors were key to ensure that I met this goal:

Accountability – I had an accountability partner who was doing this challenge with me. Since she lives in Massachusetts, we weren’t walking or running together. Instead, we stayed connected via text messages and phone calls. There was no way I was going to leave her high and dry by not completing this challenge.

Support System – I had announced to some friends and, of course, my husband that I was entering this challenge. My husband accompanied me on weekend days when he could, and a friend of mine was able to fit a walk into her schedule just when my resolve was wavering. Timing is everything!

Immediate Gratification – I had to go online to confirm that I had, in fact, walked or run five miles each day. I was able to get a lift by meeting each day’s challenge and seeing the cumulative number of miles that I’d walked. And…the challenge was for one month only: the end was always in sight.

Long-term Impact – As I mentioned, this challenge fits into my year-long goal to walk or run 1,000 miles. (I hope to avoid crawling.) It will also get me in shape to run a 5K in March and to hop on my bike in April.

Challenge goals blogSMART Goal – This challenge fit right into the SMART Goal theory. It was specific, measureable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.

Unintended Consequences – Not only did I became a morning person (who would ever have thought that was possible?), but I also became much more productive over the past month.

Success breeds success. I’m looking forward to experiencing and sharing more successes in 2016. How about you?

Challenge Met: Enjoying the Rush of Meeting a Goal was last modified: February 2nd, 2016 by Deb Nelson